Yeah I think it is sexist, but surely if men were allowed to participate then they would raise a lot more money, men wouldn't be able to ban women from something like that EOC and women would be all up in arms but because it is men they are banning then it is alright, there are double standards, EOC is a joke, men and women are different which means they aren't equal and will never be equal so there is no point trying to make it happen

I agree completely. Surely they'd want men to take part as well? More men taking part would mean more people taking part, so more money raised. Unless some women feel compelled to run in it because it's only women who can do it.

(Original post by OU Student)
I think some women are intimidated by men (who are generally much bigger) running the same race as them.

I totally understand that, and was trying to hint at it

Though I suppose one could argue that part of dealing with cancer is coming to terms with it mentally; some women who have had it themselves may feel like men can't fully appreciate what it's like (fairly or unfairly), so may use the race for life as a way of coping. Just a thought, though.

But then I believe they are doing it for marketing reasons - they believe they get more runners by having it as a "go women!", "wooh pink" sort of event, without competition from men.

Perhaps they think they have to use this women-only marketing, otherwise women wouldn't run at all. Not saying this applies to all women (or even myself!) but I can easily imagine that a lot of women run in the event just because it is publicised as a girly thing.

Men still can and do run in other events, and don't need as much or the same kind of motivation to run. They don't lose male runners, only gain the previously untapped female runners.

Unfortunate as it is.. I think objectively, the sexism of the campaign has a lot to do with its success...

Still - I would have thought they could achieve the same sort of marketing goals by publicising as a female event, but still technically allowing males to run. It doesn't seem fair or progressive to ban men from running.. It's not a competitive event so there is no justification for gender separation imo

EDIT: As someone else has said, if I were going to run for charity - I would choose something rather less about "I'm a girl so I like pink", that was open to both genders. I don't even like pink.

Race for Life has many male supporters, who volunteer their time to help out on the day. We also encourage men to come along to support the women who are taking part and are continuing to improve facilities to make Race for Life event days enjoyable for men and also to ensure it is a family-friendly event.

We regularly review our events to make them the best they can be. Two years ago, we seriously investigated the possibility of including men in Race for Life. However, our research shows that a significant number of our Race for Life supporters would strongly prefer to keep it a female-only event as it is a unique opportunity for women to come together in a non-competitive environment within an atmosphere of ‘sisterhood’.

We also undertook a commercial assessment of the event to look at the implications and potential uplift of including men. Results showed that the strength and success of Race for Life is dependent on its appeal to women and we would risk losing a significant amount of income for the charity’s life saving work if we changed it.

We have trialed 5k events for men in the past. Run for Moore in aid of the Bobby Moore Fund was a 5K series of events for men which in 2009 we took the difficult decision to cancel. Unfortunately there was insufficient interest from men to take part and to return their sponsorship money, making it difficult to justify investing in it any further.

We do not take the decision to cancel event series lightly, but decisions have to be primarily based on generating as much funds as possible so that we can continue to support our life-saving research. We have been working towards getting more men involved in fundraising for several years and are continuing to do so.

Our research indicates that most men prefer to take part in more challenging events and that 5k events were not challenging enough. With this in mind our Shine events, which are open to both men and women, offer supporters the chance to walk either a full or half marathon. We feel that these events provide our male supporters with a challenge they can strive towards .

We always encourage and actively support fundraisers who wish to organise their own event in aid of Cancer Research UK. Some of our male supporters have organised their own 5k running events such as Run for Men and the World Cup Men’s Run in aid of fundraising for Cancer Research UK. We are currently looking at how we can provide our supporters with the tools to create their own events and are trialing a Race at Your Place scheme for boys and girls to create events at their school in 2012.

Participants in Race for Life often enter in memory or support of both men and women, displaying their dedications on their back sign. The money raised from Race for Life events goes towards our life-saving work across all kinds of cancer, which affect both men and women. We are committed to beating cancer, regardless of the gender of the person affected. The majority of the research we carry out is into cancers that affect both sexes, but we also fund a range of groundbreaking research into gender specific cancers, such as ovarian and prostate.

Our pioneering work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has saved millions of lives, and our doctors and scientists have contributed to 19 of the top 20 cancer drugs used to treat patients (men, women and children) today.
Find out more about our work and achievements

(Original post by OU Student)
I think some women are intimidated by men (who are generally much bigger) running the same race as them.

So they should be. Men are both stronger and quicker. I as a male don't see the problem with women-only races or men-only races, or male only swimming pools etc. As long as it is consistent I don't mind. What gets me irritated is the inconsistency. Men and women are not the same thing and so they cannot do everything together or everything the same.

It is hypocrisy, but we're male, and therefore more rational and logical than women, we can't expect women to see it our way, and we certainly cannot rely on them to campaign on our behalf. They are not up to the job. We are their protectors and maintainers.

In my city there is a hospice which has two separate charity 5 mile walk/runs - one for men and one for women.

The womens' only one has 5x more participants. (source) I don't know why, but I imagine this factors into it - women are more likely to get involved, and making it women-only adds an extra incentive, and thereby increasing the charity's revenue.